Kemba Walker supports Rice High School

Legendary CHSAA basketball powerhouse Rice High School in New York City is expected to close, but some supporters are still keeping hope alive and rallying to keep it open.

Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News reports:

Kemba Walker led UConn to an improbable NCAA title this past season, and graduated from college in just three years. On Thursday, he’s expected to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

But if Walker hadn’t attended Rice High School, he says, much of that success wouldn’t have happened.

“It meant everything,” he said. “It made me the man who I am today.”

That’s why the Bronx product couldn’t say no when his former basketball coach asked him to swing by the school at the corner of Lenox Ave. and W. 124th St. Monday. Walker, 21, spent the afternoon outside the building along with about 75 other students, parents and alumni at a rally designed to raise awareness about Rice’s plight.

Unfortunately, despite the well-wishes of Walker and many others, Rice HS will still likely fade into history. But the show of support is cool.